Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

In October, the birds explode in song and activity. They are restless before their long migration. The narrator feels the shift in the wind and notes how all the creatures seem to be swarming and busy. She feels compelled to walk north to visit the woods and observe how the change of season affects everything. The woods are restless too. She sees a squirrel chomping on a mushroom. When it sees her, it rushes to a nearby tree and waves its tail. Another squirrel nearby seems uninterested in her presence and chews on its fur. The woods are littered with wooly bear caterpillars and walking sticks.

While the narrator travels north, all other animals travel south. Caribou and ravens begin their great migration as the weather begins to cool. While walking in the woods beside Tinker Creek, the narrator sees pokeberry juice on sandstone where some animal was eating berries. A dog passes by, holding a deer leg between its teeth. As she approaches a field, 40 robins stop pecking at the ground and look at her.

The narrator wishes she too could set out on a single-minded journey and leave everything behind. She compares the feeling to an empty shell by the sea, long abandoned by its inhabitant.